They came from worlds apart, but they bonded over treating people with respect | Opinion

Annette Willis and I became friends several years ago via texting.

We first connected over one of my columns — I don’t remember which one — but that column was the start of a beautiful friendship. Last Sunday, I attended Annette’s funeral. She died Oct. 3, only days after our last text.

It’s funny how you can become friends with someone from a totally different background. Yet because of your shared values, something clicks and you become close friends, even though you never met in person. That’s the way it was with me and Annette.

Annette was born in Boston in 1933 and moved to Miami in 1959 when she was 26. I was born in rural Williston, Florida, in 1938 and moved to Miami in 1944 when I was 6.

Annette was white and Jewish. I am Christian and Black. We both married young, she at 18 in 1951 to Sheldon, and I at 19 in 1957 to James (Jimmy). We both gave birth to sons — she had four, Larry, Jeff, Scott and Daniel — and I had two, James (Rick) and Shawn. (Rick died 11 years ago of a heart attack.)

Last Sunday, I attended Annette’s funeral. The auditorium of Levitt Weinstein Funeral Home was packed. For a 91- year-old person, that says a lot about who she was and how well she was loved and respected. People, young and old, came to pay their respects because of the amazing woman she was.

Annette grew up learning from her mom, affectionately called “Grandma Pauly,” how to treat people with kindness and respect, her son Larry said.

“She also was taught to have a ‘deep’ love for Judaism and Israel,” Larry said. “These feelings grew stronger as she went through life.”

Annette and her husband moved to Miami in 1959. And in 1975, when the youngest of their four sons was old enough, she went back to work in an insurance office. She liked the job so much, that in 1976 she opened her own office. It never occurred to her that she had entered a profession that previously had been dominated by white males. She just bravely threw her hat into the arena. And she was a success.

“Being a woman in the insurance business was not easy in those years,” Larry said. “But when people, either clients or insurance company reps met her, they came to respect her and see that she was honest, caring and very capable.”

Larry said his mother not only found the insurance business interesting, but she found the people she served even more interesting. “She loved hearing their stories and helping them solve whatever insurable problem they had,” he said.

As the business grew, her family pitched in to help. “We learned from her that treating people with respect, honesty and caring made all the difference in the world,’’ Larry said.

Annette Willis Insurance Agency became the to go-to agency in the Carol City/Miami Gardens area. Her office buildings stood as landmarks.

It didn’t take too many texts to know that Annette was a lover of people. Recently, I wrote about former President Donald Trump accusing Haitians immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of “eating the dogs.”

She texted me: “I’m writing about the Haitians. I had many Haitian clients, who were so nice. I never thought of them as being any different than my other clients... [This is] very upsetting...”

In the same text, Annette expressed her feelings about having to sell the business in 2018 and later the buildings that housed it. “...I miss my office,” she texted. “The buildings were sold... It’s the end of an era...

“My birthday was Sept. 17. I was 91. That sounds weird to me. I’m still living alone and getting along okay. Love to you. Stay well.”

I wrote back: “Hi Annette... a belated Happy Birthday to you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. You are right; when your buildings are sold it will be the end of an era. You have served the community well. I sure would like to see you... Let me know when you are up to (having lunch). I can pick you up... I think of you often and appreciate your comments.”

I told her I was going out of town the upcoming weekend and she responded, “Call me when you get back. Enjoy your trip.”

It was to be our last communication. The next text I got was from Larry, who informed me that my friend had passed the previous night.

So, at Annette’s funeral, I sat with mostly people from another culture. And, yet, I felt right at home. Her sons and daughters-in-law and grandchildren told stories of how Annette had touched them with her love of family. They told how she loved having her family around, especially her grandchildren, who often had sleepovers at her house.

“The blessings of her living a long life kept on coming,” Larry said. “As each grandchild married, she considered their spouse a grandchild. It was truly special how she thought of her grandchildren’s husbands and wives as new grandchildren.”

Larry said the people in his mom’s life went above and beyond to help her with anything she needed. “They were more than helpers. They became friends. A message I got from one sums it up,” he said:

“... I want to express my condolences and let you know how deeply saddened I am to hear of Annette’s passing. Both Sheldon and Annette were extraordinary people and I felt blessed to be in their company whenever they entrusted me with their needs at the property. They made me feel like a part of your family. I will always have fond memories.” — John the Exterminator.

Annette’s husband of 63 years passed in 2014. In addition to her four sons and their wives, she leaves many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends to mourn her passing.

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